Wooden one-piece fence post cap

ABSTRACT

A one piece fence post cap is disclosed. The fence post cap includes a roof wall and a plurality of side walls formed from a single piece of wood. The side walls are defined by a recess formed in the piece of wood. The recess is shaped to closely receive a top end of a fence post. The recess can be formed by machining the recess into the piece of wood. The fence post cap can be press-fit, nailed, screwed, adhesively, or otherwise secured to the top end of the fence post. The recess can be suitably shaped to receive fence posts of various shapes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/898,636, filed on Jan. 30, 2007, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to post caps for post fences andother structures that use posts, and more specifically to such post capsthat are made from wood.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Wooden posts are used in a variety of different applications. Forexample, such posts are used in fences, in deck railings, and othertypes of barrier. In many such applications, a bottom end of the post issunk into the ground with or without the use of concrete to reinforcethe post. The remainder of the post extends vertically above the groundto support a structure mounted thereto such as cross members of a fence.A top end of the post is often times decorated with a post cap to coverup the internal grain of the wood that is visible thereat. This alsoreduces manufacturing time and thus costs of providing a finished topend that is visually appealing. Such post cap also helps to protect thetop end of the post from damage such as from impacts or rotting fromrain water trapped thereon.

Many prior art wooden post caps are made from a plurality of woodenindividual pieces that are primarily stapled together for reducedproduction costs. However, such multiple piece post caps are prone tofall apart after several seasons of exposure to inclement weather. Thisoccurs because of deterioration of the wood since water can freeze inthe open joints between the wooden pieces forcing the pieces apart, andthe staples slowly lose grip on the wood of the pieces they are holdingtogether.

To avoid the aforementioned problems associated with multi-piece woodenpost caps, many manufacturers have abandoned wood altogether in favor ofmolded synthetic post caps. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,143,556, issuedto Hales, discloses a two part cap for a fence post. According to Hales,the cap has a base which is designed to fit over the end of the post andwhich has a locking section on each side consisting of a ramp above thetop of the side which slopes downwardly to a locking edge. The base isattached to the top of the post using nails or screws that extendthrough a hole either in the sidewall of the base or in the tabs thatproject into the aperture in the center of the base. The top member hasa bar on the inside of each that snaps over the locking edge on the baseafter sliding down the locking ramp. The top member and base arepreferably formed from plastic to have sufficient flexibility to allowthe locks to lock, but sufficient rigidity to hold them in the lockedposition.

Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,327, issued to Steffes, discloses a capand base assembly for a fence post. According to Steffes, the capassembly comprises a molded upper base member, with a molded cap,preferably snapped together by internal prong-and-ear fasteners, ormolded as a single piece, or as vertical halves fastened together.

Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,515, issued to Buhrts et al., discloses asynthetic wood post cap. According to Buhrts, the post cap is comprisedof a roof portion, at least one support member, and a wall portion. Theroof portion is adapted to extend over a top portion of a post. Thesupport members extend from the roof portion to rest against the topportion of the post such that the roof portion is supported. The wallportion extends from the roof portion and is adapted to fit around theoutside of the post. The post cap is made by injection molding asynthetic wood composition.

Another synthetic fence post cap is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,853,167, issued to West et al. According to West, the decorative coverfor posts includes a collar portion which is configured to coverattachment devices and the like to provide a more aesthetically pleasingtermination for the post. A cap portion can be provided which engagesthe collar portion to cover the end of the post.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,536, issued to Bender, discloses another fence postcap. According to Bender, The fence post cap is formed from plasticmaterials and has a fastener support member, which resists capdeformation during application of the fastener and includes fluidsealing portion about the fastener and locating studs adjacent theperimeter sides of the cap to facilitate positive seating of the cap onthe fence post. The plastic material can be molded in any desired colorto match or contrast the fence color. The fastener is received within acounter bore such that the fastener head is more isolated frominadvertent contact after installation.

Unfortunately, there are several drawbacks to these and other syntheticfence post cap systems. One drawback is the nature of the syntheticmaterials. The synthetic material are just that, synthetic, and thuslack the appeal of natural wood products, weather and wear in a mannerdifferently than the wood they are mounted on, and do not take paints orstains in the same manner as the wooden posts. Another drawback of thesynthetic post caps is their susceptibility to break. As indicatedabove, these synthetic caps need to be made from materials that arestrong enough to last, but flexible enough to bend and shape as fingers,tabs, clips, and the like (weak points of molded products) are snappedtogether. This is a very difficult object to achieve, particularly inthe wide variety of elements and temperatures the fence post caps aresubjected to.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved natural wood fence post capthat does not deteriorate and fall apart after several seasons of use ininclement weather, as multi-piece wooden fence post caps do. And thereis a need for an improved fence post that overcomes the drawback ofsynthetic fence post caps.

Therefore, it would be desirable to produce a wooden one-piece fencepost cap that overcomes the durability problems of multi-piece woodenfence post caps and overcomes the drawbacks of synthetic fence postcaps.

SUMMARY

In view of the deficiencies described above, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a wooden one-piece fence post cap.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fence postcap that overcomes the durability problems of multi-piece wooden fencepost caps.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fence postcap that overcomes the drawbacks of synthetic fence post caps.

In accordance with the above objectives, the present invention is aone-piece wooden fence post cap. The fence post cap includes a roof walland a plurality of side walls formed from a single piece of wood. Theside walls are defined by a recess formed in the piece of wood. Therecess is shaped to closely receive a top end of a fence post. Therecess can be formed by machining the recess into the piece of wood. Thefence post cap can be press-fit, nailed, screwed, adhesively, orotherwise secured to the top end of the fence post. The recess can besuitably shaped to receive fence posts of various shapes.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with the followingdrawings wherein like reference numerals represent like features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a wooden one-piece fence post capaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a wooden one-piece fence post capaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 sectional view of a wooden one-piece fence post cap according tothe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understandingthat the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification ofthe principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broadaspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

The present invention is a one-piece wooden fence post cap. Referring toFIGS. 1-3, the fence post cap 22 includes a roof wall 24 and a pluralityof side walls 26 formed from a single piece of wood. The side walls 26are defined by a recess 28 formed in the piece of wood. In being formedfrom a single piece of wood, the fence post cap 22 is sturdy and notprone to come apart after years of exposure to inclement weather. Theincreased durability and sturdiness stems from the fence post cap 22 ofthe present invention has no joints into which water can penetrate,freeze and expand. Similarly, the fence post cap 22 of the presentinvention has no staples or other fasteners holding pieces together thatcan loose their grip on pieces over time.

The recess 28 is shaped to closely receive a top end of a fence post(not shown). In various preferred embodiments, the recess 28 is formedby machining, such as by routing, the recess 28 into the piece of wood.The fence post cap 22 can be press-fit, nailed, screwed, adhesively, orotherwise secured to the top end of the fence post. Conventional wooden,plastic, or metal shims (not shown) may be used if the recess 28 of thefence post cap 22 does not fit tightly on the top of the fence post. Therecess 28 can be suitably shaped to receive fence posts of variousshapes, such as square, rectangular, triangular, and circular posts. Therecess 28 may be shaped to receive other shaped fence posts as well.

In various preferred embodiments the roof wall 24 is substantiallypyramidal in shape. One advantage of the pyramidal shape is includingthe prevention of rain, snow, and trash placed thereon from collectingon top of the fence post cap 22.

The single piece of wood used to form the fence post cap 22 can be anysuitable wood. In various preferred embodiments, the single piece ofwood is from kiln dried teak. Other weather resistant hardwoods orsuitably treated soft woods may also be used. The fence post cap 22 mayalso be stained, coated with paint or polyurethane as desired.

In other various embodiments, the fence post cap can be formed from asingle piece of synthetic wood composition.

While the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described,numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing fromthe spirit of the invention, and the scope of protection is only limitedby the scope of the accompanying claims.

1. A fence post cap comprising, a roof wall and a plurality of sidewalls, wherein said roof wall said side walls are formed from a singlepiece of wood, wherein said side walls are defined by recess formed insaid piece of wood, and wherein said recess closely receives a top endof a fence post.
 2. The fence post cap according to claim 1, whereinsaid roof wall is substantially pyramidal in shape.
 3. The fence postcap according to claim 1, wherein said single piece of wood compriseskiln dried teak.
 4. The fence post cap according to claim 1, whereinsaid recess if formed by machining said recess into said piece of wood.5. The fence post cap according to claim 4, wherein said machining ofsaid recess into said piece of wood comprises routing said recess intosaid piece of wood.
 6. The fence post cap according to claim 1, whereinsaid top end of said fence post is substantially square in shape andsaid recess is substantially square in shape.
 7. The fence post capaccording to claim 1, wherein said top end of said fence post issubstantially rectangular in shape and said recess is substantiallyrectangular in shape.
 8. The fence post cap according to claim 1,wherein said top end of said fence post is substantially triangular inshape and said recess is substantially triangular in shape.
 9. The fencepost cap according to claim 1, wherein said top end of said fence postis substantially circular in shape and said recess is substantiallycircular in shape.
 10. A method of manufacturing a fence post capcomprising the steps of: providing a single piece of wood for forming afence post cap, machining a recess to closely receive a top end of afence post into a to single piece of wood, wherein said machining ofsaid recess into said single piece of wood defines a plurality of sidewalls in said single piece of wood, and wherein said machining of saidrecess into said single piece of wood further defines a roof wall insaid single piece of wood.
 11. The method of manufacturing a fence postcap according to claim 10, further comprising forming a desired shapeinto said roof wall.
 12. The method of manufacturing a fence post capaccording to claim 11 wherein said desired shape comprises asubstantially pyramidal shape.
 13. A fence post cap comprising, a roofwall and a plurality of side walls, wherein said roof wall said sidewalls are formed from a single piece of synthetic wood composition,wherein said side walls are defined by recess formed in said piece ofsynthetic wood composition, and wherein said recess closely receives atop end of a fence post.